Dear Friends and Readers,
I love fall. I love the crisper air, the need for long pants and a sweater. I love sleeping in a cold room with the window open. I love the memories of raking leaves and setting them on fire in the ditch in front of my home in Lucedale, MS. As kids, we would jump the ditch over the flames. We were young and idiotic. Luckily no one was ever hurt. But that smell of burning leaves is embedded in my memory bank.
I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the past. When contrasted with the present, the past can be very comforting. I just want to say now how I have come to admire my parents for the way they raised me. The sacrifices they made—and never spoke of—so that I could grow into the person I am. There are so many things I would love a do-over on. So many moments when I was just too self-involved to see what was happening behind the scenes. Life doesn’t give do-overs, but it does allow us to pay it forward, if we choose. That’s what I’m reflecting on and working on in my personal journey.
I had a very weird event on 9-11 at the farm. It was a drizzly day with a temperature that was tolerable (in contrast to the 8 weeks of 90+ temps we’ve endured). I’ve slowed down on farm chores a lot. Heck, I’m old! But I still have responsibilities and many things to do and no one else to do them. (That is not a whine, it’s just a fact.) So I got my scrubber, some buckets, a scoop, the nippers. I had to clear briars away from the faucet so I could work. I scrubbed the tub and scooped out all the water and green mold and nearly broke my neck a number of times doing it. But it was done! I stood up and standing right in front of me, on the other side of the trough, was a swirling mist that finally revealed a human form. It was amorphous until it finally settled into a torso, arms and legs, and at last a human face. It was a woman in her 50s. I’d never seen her. She was pretty and when she looked at me and our eyes connected, I was hit with a wall of grief so powerful it almost knocked me to my knees. Then she was gone.
I saw another apparition like this—the swirling energy unable to manifest a form and hold it—when I was spending some time in West Virginia at Swift Level (An amazing place!). I had a room downstairs with windows that gave a view of the pastures where the horses grazed peacefully. I had a great dinner with Tootie and her family, and then we went to bed. I was reading a Jeffrey Deaver book and snuggled in bed on a cold November night. The house was quiet, the world asleep. Suddenly the room got very, very cold. I peeked over the top of my books and a swirling mass of energy blocked the door. Eventually it formed into a man—someone I had never seen. It scared me so bad! I pulled the covers over my head and hid—ha ha ha. Like you can hide from a ghost.
The next morning I was telling Tootie about the incident and she told me the maid wouldn’t clean the room I was in because it scared her. Such a beautiful room with a view I never tired of. But Tootie went into the room and pointed to a book that told some local history. The book had been closed when I went to bed. I know this because I ‘d looked at it and put it back on the table. But now it was open to a page that told the story of a man who’d died in Swift Level. The maid had found the book open too many times—and boy do I understand that!
I have seen and see other spirits. Often they are better formed—they have the energy to manifest completely. I have been truly scared but never threatened by them. I only see them if I am busy, preoccupied, daydreaming—some state of mental lull that allows me to see. They kind of have to catch me off guard.
So that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
This discount ends Wednesday, September 30!
Remember we have book sales going on to the end of this month. And I’ll be featured in an online event in the In the Pages with Heather and Shawn Facebook Group. Click on it to join this private group.
I have two signings coming up for JOY TO THE BONES. Oct. 24 in Mobile at the Haunted Bookshop, and one in Columbus, MS sponsored by Friendly City Books and Friends of the Library in Columbus (thank you Hope Oakes!). I’ll let you know the date, but it will be the first week in November. JOY TO THE BONES releases Oct. 27.
This is all very bittersweet to me. I spent every day with Sarah Booth, Jitty, and the gang for over 30 years. Now, I am working on a new idea with Daryl Marcus. But I am haunted by Sarah Booth, Tinkie, Jitty, and the critters. I see Dahlia House, the pastures, the horses, the characters in my mind, and I miss writing about them. Once you read the final book, you will be the judge of “did I do them justice”? I really wanted the series to have an arc that readers would enjoy. I hope I did that, as hard as it was. The future isn’t guaranteed for any of us, and many of my friends all around me are “stepping on that rainbow in the sky” as Kinky Friedman once said. This is just a fact of life. Do I love it? NO!!! But what a convoluted, interesting time I’ve had on this planet. And now for a new adventure with Daryl. Whew!
All of the critters are doing okay. This summer has nearly killed Flicker and me. The heat has been relentless and she has Cushings and a side effect is not being able to sweat. So the heat is a killer. We have misters, fans, hourly hosings—but it has been very hard on my horse. I hope the weather changes soon for some cooler days. Fingers crossed.
I’m off to write my supernatural thriller, call the horses into the barn for some hay and hose (they do like being sprayed with a hose), and finish the chores of the day.
Here’s a tune for you. It’s a little melancholy and reflects how I feel about autumn—and endings. If you don’t know Eva Cassidy, you should! Click on: Autumn Leaves (Blues Alley Performance)
Have a great October.
Adieu from Carolyn and the Critters!
